There are numerous devices intended to improve a shooter's accuracy in many sports, including hockey. However, most practice targets are used without a goaltender and only provide a visual target in the corners of the goal or between the goaltender's legs. An early example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,298. For the shooting phase of the game, a barricade member 18 is provided, as shown in detail in FIG. 1, for attachment to the goal 17 as a means of blocking entry into the net 20. The barricade 18 includes a panel 23 having one or more openings 19 in the panel plywood 23 to allow a hockey puck to pass through the barricade 18 to the interior of the goal 17. The barricade member 18 is provided with attachment means to allow the barricade member 18 to be attached to the goal 17 at the frame 24 which surrounds the opening into the net 20. The openings 19 in the barricade 18 are each of a size sufficient to allow a puck to pass through the opening 19 into the net 20 and the openings 19 are preferably positioned on the panel 23 of the barricade 18 so as to conform to locations at which a puck could reasonably be expected to enter the net 20 if a goalie were actually protecting the goal.
Other practice aids are not intended for use with a regulation goal at all. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,223 discloses a hockey type goal structure which may be readily set up in a yard, street or on ice. The goal is formed of a rectangular frame that supports a canvas sheet fitted with peripheral openings in a plane generally inclined to the horizontal surface on which the device is mounted. The canvas sheet is fastened by tension springs to a frame so that a ball or puck striking the canvas is rebounded away from the structure, while a ball or puck entering one of the peripheral openings is scored as a goal. While the structure does feature surfaces around the peripheral opening of a goal, the goal forms part of a game unto itself and, unlike a real game of hockey, central shots are favored over corner shots.
Various practice aids are also commercially available (See, for example, http://www.hockeyshot.com/Shooting_Targets_Tarps_s/72.htm). So-called “shooter tutor” target panels fasten over an existing real goal, and typically provide a picture of a goalie with holes through the target in the corners and between the goalie's legs. While the ultimate scoring regions are defined by the holes, other potential scoring regions are not provided and, if used in a real game, much of the target is obscured by a real goalie.
In addition to the above-mentioned devices, numerous other practice aids have been developed for hockey and other sports, many of which have been patented around the world. However, none are truly compatible with live action during a real game, nor do they provide sound, positive psychological reinforcement during an actual game when the practice aid is removed.